SAULT COLLEGE OF APPLIED ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO COURSE OUTLINE COURSE TITLE: Technology and Society CODE NO. : SEMESTER: ANY PROGRAM: AUTHOR: General Education Course (any program) Computer Studies Faculty DATE: Jan 2011 PREVIOUS OUTLINE DATED: Jan 2010 APPROVED: Penny Perrier Jan/11 CHAIR DATE TOTAL CREDITS: 2 PREREQUISITE(S): HOURS/WEEK: NONE 30 Hours Total 2 hours per week Copyright 2011 The Sault College of Applied Arts & Technology Reproduction of this document by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written permission of Sault College of Applied Arts & Technology is prohibited. For additional information, please contact Penny Perrier, Chair School of Business (705) 759-2554, Ext. 2754
2 I. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will introduce students to the impact that technological change has on society. Illustrations and examples will be drawn from the students discipline. Potential topics include the social and economic impact of new technology, responsibilities and ethics, privacy, liability and technology-based crime, and emerging trends. It is designed to provide students from varied programs and backgrounds with a particularly relevant and timely appreciation of the impact technology and technological advances have made on every aspect of society. Technology and its implementation in society have strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This course investigates the social, legal, and ethical issues the use of technology raises. The course is not intended to provide a bias either for or against any particular issue but rather an opportunity to examine all sides of the issues and appreciate the diversity of opinions and personal preferences. We will discuss many controversial issues such as privacy versus access to information, privacy versus law enforcement, freedom of speech versus control of content on the Internet, copyright and intellectual property control versus open access and full use and copy freedom. These and many other issues will require students to participate through independent research via the Internet, electronic mail and recent publications. The student may also be asked to be an active participant as an individual and team player in discussions and debates using a multitude of mediums such as verbal, written, electronic mail and other technologically based mediums.
3 II. LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ELEMENTS OF THE PERFORMANCE: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate the ability to: 1. Understand technology and its role in the Technological Revolution. (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4) Potential Elements of the Performance: define technology describe the information and technological revolution differentiate between innovation representing a paradigm shift vs innovation representing a refinement of existing technologies relate important events in history to the development of technology determine sources of innovation funding in Canada cite various technological failures and how these failures have affected our use of technology evaluate the effectiveness of the media on perceptions of technologies appreciate the difficulties in predicting the consequences of a new technology identify and research current and new technologies identify the reasons why people are often resistant to change define the following: Luddite, Neo-Luddite, Anarcho-Primitivists 2. Understand the social impact of technology and the role it plays in our daily lives. (chapters 5 and 6) Potential Elements of the Performance: determine the factors that influence access to various technologies define the digital divide and propose a solution(s) to it discuss the advantages/disadvantages in the following: service economy, manufacturing economy, agricultural economy cite various businesses created out of technological advances discuss how various businesses have adapted to technological changes discuss the impact of economics on innovation discuss the impact of technology on employment
4 3. Understand the legal and moral issues surrounding technology. (chapters 7 and 8) Potential Elements of the Performance: discuss the ways in which technology has changed the way we communicate describe the various new forms of social interaction brought about through technology discuss problems such as internet addiction, identity theft, and internet predators cite legislations relating to the privacy and freedom of information discuss the philosophical, legal, and economic issues of privacy versus freedom of information analyse various techniques that can be applied to improve the reliability and safety of technology based systems define the intellectual property issues as well as the copyright and patent laws in the Canadian context describe what software piracy is and its cost to society define and describe various forms of technology based crime such as sabotage, fraud, and embezzlement discuss computer hacking/cracking and crime laws define professional liability and how it affects employers differentiate between the Code of Conduct and General Ethics 4. Understand the use and impact of technology in education, science, medicine and entertainment. (chapters 9-11) Potential Elements of the Performance: discuss whether young children should use computers discuss the use of technology (hardware/software) in the education of children discuss the impact of technology on libraries discuss the uses of technology in science and medicine discuss the ethical issues relating to medical and scientific technologies discuss the influence of digital technology in areas such as photography, music, movies and animation discuss the impact of digital formats on television discuss the predictions surrounding the effects of technology in the future and how it will change our lives
5 III. TOPICS: Note: These topics sometimes overlap several areas of skill development and are not necessarily intended to be explored in isolated learning units or in the order below. SPECIFIC TOPICS 1. Technology and the Technological Revolution APPROXIMATE TIME 3 WEEKS 2. Social Issues 5 WEEKS 3. Legal and Moral Issues 4 WEEKS 4. Technology in education, science, medicine and entertainment 3 WEEKS IV. REQUIRED RESOURCES/TEXTS/MATERIALS: Text: Technology and Society by Jan L. Harrington Jones and Bartlett Publishing ISBN: 9780763750947 ADDITIONAL RESOURCE MATERIALS Additional reference material will either be given to the students or placed on LMS for the students use. Handouts, guidance, and material as it relates to the individual topics. Use of research modes such as: Internet, Library Data Base Searches, and articles. REQUIRED INDIVIDUAL STUDENT RESOURCES Participation & Teamwork Individual Research Documentation
V. EVALUATION METHODS: Tests/Quizzes/Assignments 6 Weight Quizzes 20% Tests 40% Assignments/labs 25% Major Assignment 15% 100% The following semester grades will be assigned to students in postsecondary courses: Grade Definition Grade Point Equivalent A+ 90 100% 4.00 A 80-89% 4.00 B 70-79% 3.00 C 60-69% 2.00 D 50 59% 1.00 F (Fail) below 50% 0.00 CR (Credit) S U X NR W Credit for diploma requirements has been awarded. Satisfactory achievement in field /clinical placement or non-graded subject area. Unsatisfactory achievement in field/clinical placement or non-graded subject area. A temporary grade limited to situations with extenuating circumstances giving a student additional time to complete the requirements for a course. Grade not reported to Registrar's office. Student has withdrawn from the course without academic penalty.
7 VI. OTHER EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS In order to pass this course the student must obtain an overall test/quiz average of 50% or better, as well as, an overall assignment average of 50% or better. A student who is not present to write a particular test/quiz, and does not notify the instructor beforehand of their intended absence, may be subject to a zero grade on that test/quiz. Assignments submitted after the due date and time will be subject to a 5% per day late. Assignments will not be accepted past one week late unless there are extenuating and legitimate circumstances. VII. SPECIAL NOTES Communication: The professor reserves the right to use tools other than WebCT/LMS, such as Microsoft Outlook, for the primary channel of communication. Attendance: Sault College is committed to student success. There is a direct correlation between academic performance and class attendance; therefore, for the benefit of all its constituents, all students are encouraged to attend all of their scheduled learning and evaluation sessions. This implies arriving on time and remaining for the duration of the scheduled session. It is the departmental policy that once the classroom door has closed, the learning process has begun. Late arrivers may not be granted admission to the room. Absences due to medical or other unavoidable circumstances should be discussed with the professor. Students are required to be in class on time and attendance will be taken within the first five minutes of class. A missed class will result in a penalty in your marks unless you have discussed your absence with the professor as described above. The penalty depends on course hours and will be applied as follows: Course Hours Deduction 5 hrs/week (75 hrs) 1.0% /hr 4 hrs/week (60 hrs) 1.5% /hr 3 hrs/week (45 hrs) 2.0% /hr 2 hrs/week (30 hrs) 3.0% /hr Absentee reports will be discussed with each student. Final penalties will be reviewed and assessed at the discretion of the professor.
8 VIII. COURSE OUTLINE ADDENDUM: The provisions contained in the addendum located on the portal form part of this course outline.